Phil Davis
Davis was asked quite a bit about wanting a fight with Ryan Bader. When asked about his fight with Lyoto Machida he eluded to hoping that Machida “wasn’t the same fighter” as the last time they fought. He also mentioned that fighting in an empty arena wouldn’t be a big deal, he said: “I train in a silent gym all the time.”
Cat Zingano
The betting lines of the fight were brought up and Cat simply said: “I don’t care.” She referred to her change from bantamweight to featherweight and how it benefited her. She said of her old weight cuts to bantamweight: “I’m pretty sure I almost died a couple times.” She mentioned looking forward to fighting Julia Budd, and that she was even a fighter she watched and admired.
Ed Ruth
Ed excitedly answered a question about all of the Penn State alumni that have made their way into MMA, and said “Those guys are just animals.” Ruth continued to stress how much he loved the 1-on-1 aspect of MMA. Despite his impressive wrestling history, he said he’s been working more on wrestling than striking. He also said that he keeps himself motivated through curiosity. He also had a fun exchange over what he did during lockdown, and he explained that he picked up the guitar. He said he committed to it, and his want to learn new things has always been a big drive for him.
Raymond Daniels
Daniels started off by doing the classy thing, and defending his opponent after they were basically called small time. He talked about being happy he could fight and wanting to be a “superhero” for the public who don’t have much going on right now. He also openly challenged Douglas Lima, he said “He is the wizard, and I’m off to see the wizard.”
Juan Archuleta
Archuleta showed up in his trademark hat and stated that he enjoys how focused you have to be while fighting at a weight that requires a bigger cut, and he enjoys the discipline it takes. He also said that his main goal was to win the title and bring it to Spain to defend it there.
Liz Carmouche
Liz said that the training from home was a change, and that she had her wife help her a lot and “endure the chaos.” She referred to her leaving UFC and that when management changed it was a very different story, and that’s the main reason she had the troubled exit. She also said that although she’s thrilled to fight again, she prefers traveling to fight because she can see a new place.
Jon Fitch
Fitch said that he decided to come back because he wanted to give people in quarantine “15 minutes of carnage.” He talked about how Gracie fought the same person that he did in his last fight, and he said he wants a “barn burner” referring to most of the fight being on the ground and relatively slow paced. Fitch went into what he’s been vocal about, which is that promoter’s control the titles in MMA, which he confirmed when it was mentioned that MMA is run like WWE, to which he responded “the business model is pro wrestling.” Fitch has always been on the side of fighters having more control of who they challenge for their titles.
Derek Campos
Campos referred to the opponent change and said that the short time to prepare didn’t hinder his ability to scout Diggs.
Keoni Diggs
Diggs said he was thrilled to get the opportunity, even on short notice. Said it meant a lot and it took “years of hard work.”
Neiman Gracie
He expressed his excitement about the fight, saying that he’s wanted it. Gracie also pointed out that he needs to change his approach of trying to do damage from the bottom position, he referred to MMA judges thinking that the guy on top is winning regardless.
Patrick “Patchy” Mix
Patchy continually referred to the fact that he’s not surprised to be here and seemed supremely confident in himself heading into the fight. He called himself a “belt collector” and that if anyone else got a title shot instead of him it was “because of their name.” He also said that there was less pressure with no fans at the fights, he said he’s calling it the “Covid Championships.”
Lyoto Machida
Fitting of a legend, the Dragon got the last spot in the press conference. He said that he doesn’t consider the last fight he had with Davis relevant and it was 7 years ago. Machida mentioned how he came to Bellator because he enjoys “floating” between 185 and 205. In terms of titles he’s focused on one belt at the moment, but being a double champion wouldn’t upset him. He said he got the chance to “evolve his game” when he didn’t have a fight scheduled. He also referred to his mentality during his career: “I face every fight like it’s my last fight.”
Leave a Reply